Crime & Safety

Last Defendant Sentenced in Lennon Baldwin Bullying Case

Mother of Morristown freshman who committed suicide last March after bullying reportedly said other teen showed not 'hint of remorse.'

Michael Conway, 19, who changed his story after first telling police he was not present at bullying incidents that preceeded the suicide of Morristown High School freshman Lennon Baldwin in March 2012, has been sentenced to three years' probation, NJ.com reported.

The victim's mother, Sharon Varnelas, said in a victim-impact statement that the older Morristown teen "stood by and watched while criminals terrorized, threatened and stole money from a much younger and sorely outnumbered Lennon," according to the Friday report in NJ.com.

Conway’s attorney, Edmund DeNoia, said in Superior Court in Morristown that Conway had not been involved with bullying, threats or robbery.

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Authorities say 15-year-old Lennon Baldwin, a freshman at Morristown High School, was the victim of an assault at the school, told to lie about it and then robbed in the Century 21 parking lot .

According to Morris County Prosecutor Michael Bianchi's comments at the time of the charges, Baldwin was assaulted at Morristown High School at approximately 11:30 a.m. on March 6, 2012 by one of the juveniles, whose was not made public due to his age. That alleged assault was captured on the school's surveillance system, Bianchi said, which led to the suspension of the juvenile identified in the video on March 8.

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However, prior to the juvenile's suspension on March 8, the police investigation—a collaboration between the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, Morristown and Morris Township police departments—revealed the juvenile "made numerous attempts to contact Mr. Baldwin for the purpose of instructing him to go to the school administration and tell them that the incident which occurred on March 6 was a joke," Bianchi said.

Despite Baldwin reporting the incident as a joke to the school on March 7, the school continued its investigation and subsequently suspended the juvenile defendant the following day.

Then, on March 9, the investigators said Baldwin was met by the suspended juvenile, a second juvenile and Conway, in the Century 21 parking lot where Baldwin was robbed and told "it was punishment for what occurred at Morristown High School on March 6 and the resulting suspension of the juvenile for the alleged assault," Bianchi said.

As a result, additional charges were filed against one juvenile of theft and terroristic threats, and the other juvenile charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit theft. Conway was charged with false swearing last year for allegedly providing false statements to police and detectives of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

The two juveniles were sent to the Morris County Youth Detention Facility on March 22 and 23, and released to House Arrest on March 27, which remained in place as of the May 30 press conference, Bianchi said.

On March 28, Baldwin was found dead.

In the days following his death, friends and loved ones posted tributes to the teen through social networks like Facebook and YouTube. Several have noted Baldwin had been the victim of bullying, which led to his suicide.

The two juveniles later were sentenced to one-year probation after pleading guilty to charges related to the robbery investigation.


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